


A Change of Heart

by erensbootydestroysall



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, eren is a dork, levi is a dork in disguise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2018-12-05 17:21:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11582688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erensbootydestroysall/pseuds/erensbootydestroysall
Summary: Eren Jaeger: A loser. Has a crush on the most popular boy in school. Will most likely never get his dream boat.Jean Kirstein: Most popular boy in school. Bit of a douche. Constantly scoring on the ladies.Levi Ackerman: The new kid. Hates authority. A loner who finds himself helping some loser get his dream boat.aka a dumb basic high school au!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is the first time writing a fic that has more than 3 chapters so I don't really know what i'm doing. Most of this is just for fun and not meant to be taken seriously. With that said, please feel free to leave comments, letting me know what you thought or to give criticism. i don't really know how long this whole story is going to be. I'm gonna say it might be somewhere from 8-10 chapters. I'll try my best to update weekly but..no promises. Anyways, thank you so much for reading!

The crowded restaurant was filled with noise and bustling with life. As to be expected, since it was a family restaurant and a Friday. I played around with the remnants of my meal. Despite being full, I reached over the table to grab some of Armin's fries. He swatted me on the back of my hand in response.

"Hey! Get your own!" he said, still eating his meal.

I laughed at how defensive Armin got over his food and gave him my best innocent face. "But I finished mine already and yours look really good! Besides, you take forever to finish. Mikasa and I already finished an hour ago." I told him.

Mikasa stayed silent, not particularly caring about our little banter. She leaned back against the maroon leather booth, sipping on her milkshake and hiding her mouth behind her favorite red scarf. Armin pouted with a 'hmph!' and turned his nose at me.

"Excuse me for savoring my food instead of horking it down like a pig." His playful tone and smile gave it away that he wasn't actually being serious. We always joke and tease with each other so we tend to not take things seriously.

"I don't hork it down!" I exclaimed. I turned to my side, looking at Mikasa for backup. "Right, Mikasa?"

To my surprise, Mikasa continued staying silent, as to prove Armin's point. She moved her scarf out of her way before she spoke. "Well, you are always the first to finish..."

I fake a hurt expression and cross my arms. "I can't believe it. Betrayed by my two best friends."

Armin rolled his eyes at my dramatic reaction and pushed his tray of fries towards me. "Yeah yeah, just eat these and shut your trap, will ya?" I swear, that boy never finishes anything. He always gets full so easily and I end up being his human trashcan. It didn't really bother me since I get free food out of it. I shove a handful of fries into my mouth and noticed Armin and Mikasa making eye contact with each other and saw him mouth the word 'pig' to her.

"Hey!" I cried out with my mouth still full.

"Eren, just admit that you always steal our food, no matter what the situation is." Mikasa poked fun at me.

"Not anymore! New year, new me." 

"It's September." Armin reminded me.

"Fine. New school year, new me." I corrected myself. "I can't believe we're juniors now. We're finally the upperclassmen! How cool is that?"

"I mean, if you consider taking a bunch of SATs and ACTs cool then yeah, it's pretty cool!"Armin said with a weak smile. "Not to mention keeping up your GPA, joining a club and playing some sort of sport. Plus we have to start thinking about college! I read an article that said-" 

I flicked a fry at him to stop his downward spiral. "Armin, you're rambling again."

"Right. Sorry." He took a sip of his soda before speaking up again. "Do you think we're gonna get thrown in the trash again? I mean, we still look like freshman..."

"One time." I said, holding my index finger up. "That was one time and I won't let it happen again. You wanna know why? Because this time-"

"Because this time we have Mikasa on our side?" Armin eagerly asked.

"No!" I declared, a bit offended. "Because this time I've become stronger! And I won't let you or me get pushed around by anyone!"

"Damn softball tryouts. If it wasn't for them I could've protected the two of you." Mikasa darkly muttered under her scarf.

Armin broke the strange silence. "Anyways, I'm just glad that the first two weeks are going to be calm. Nothing but syllabuses and class ice breakers."

I laughed. Armin always underestimated himself. He had nothing to worry about. He was always at the top of our class. Which made sense, considering that he always spent his time doing his homework or studying. Mikasa is pretty good too. She doesn't get perfect scores like Armin, but she still gets A's and B's without really trying too hard. As for me? Well, let's just say I manage to pass the class.

Our nice little atmosphere we created got rudely interrupted by the front doors slamming open. A large group appeared and my ears were instantly flooded with loud cries and obnoxious laughter. I rolled my eyes and turned to see which annoying group had entered and my heart stopped. I should've realized that _he'd_ be here. I mean, it is a Friday night and this is one of the more popular joints to hang out at. I tore my eyes away and sunk into my seat, trying to conceal myself into the background. I wasn't ready to see him.

Mikasa groaned. "Ugh, here comes Jean the fuckboy."

Armin laughed at her statement and I nervously laughed along too. They-along with the rest of the world-know I’m gay as shit but they don’t know about my major crush on Jean. I’m more afraid of their opinions on me liking Jean than my sexuality. I get why they think Jean's an ass. When I first saw him, I didn't like him either. In fact, I hated him. We both had short tempers and big mouths so we always ended up fighting each other. It was hard not to throw a punch at that guy since he was your typical popular douche bag. He always boasted about how many "bitches" he scored and threw outrageous house parties when his parents were out. I had no interest in him whatsoever, but one day, I saw him show his soft side when it was just the two of us. When not surrounded by a mass of teens, Jean was actually kind of nice. The idiot actually had some manners and after witnessing his charisma and gentlemen-like behavior, I knew that I'd be pining after him like a love sick fool. We don't talk a lot since he's way more popular than I am. Still, even though Jean's friendly with everyone else, the two of us always end up fighting. To be honest, a weird part of me likes it when we fight. He always gets so heated and gets right in front of my face. It's the closest contact I'll ever get with him, since he's (unfortunately) straight. In fact, he's a straight up player, messing around from one girl to the next. I still talk to him and find ways to get closer to him, even though I know nothing will ever come out of it. Still, a gay boy can dream, right?

Armin cocked his head. "Oh, come to think of it, didn't Jean say he was throwing a party?"

"It's literally the beginning of the school year." Mikasa groused.

"Yeah, he said he was throwing it in honor of starting the school year right." Armin informed her.

Mikasa blew some air out of her nose. "Yeah right, what a pathetic excuse."

I chimed in. "I don't know, don't you guys think it would be kind of nice to go?"

Armin responded with a snort. "As if he'd invite us."

"Besides, parties are lame anyways." She rolled her eyes and took a long sip of her shake.

"Well, you probably have a chance." Armin stated. "Jean does sort of have a thing for you."

Mikasa grimaced. "Ugh, don't remind me."

When it came to scoring girls, Jean had no problem. Any girl he set eyes on was easily his. Every girl except Mikasa that is. Jean being Jean however, views Mikasa's refusals as "playing hard to get". Sure Jean, sure. Meanwhile I can't even learn how to befriend Jean let alone date him.

I sadly dipped one of Armin's fries into Mikasa's milkshake. (Both to their dismay). Eating your feelings always works, right?

"I hate to admit it but, it would be kind of fun to go to one high school party in our lives." Armin confessed.

I stopped sulking and swung my right arm. "That's the spirit!"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this right now." She leaned back and crossed her arms, looking like she couldn't care less about the direction this conversation was headed.

All of a sudden I notice Jean walking up to our table out of the corner of my eye and I entered into full panic mode. Before I could even tell Armin and Mikasa to look cool and act natural, Jean strolled up and stopped right by us.

"Armin." He playfully greeted him with a finger gun. "Mikasa." He said in a sing song voice and with a wink. "Jaeger." He growled my name with a light sneer on his face. I should've felt offended and upset- and I was! But a greater part of me felt excited and turned on.

"What do you want, horse face?" I asked, pretending that face of his caused me rage instead of boners.

"Calm your nips Jaeger. I didn't come here for you. I’m not gay. I came here for _mi amor_ " he gestured to Mikasa who looked offended that she even had to be having this conversation with Jean.

"So....Mikasa..." He slapped one hand on our table wearing a devilish grin. "I got a party at _mi casa_ and mi casa...es su casa." He wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Mikasa looked like she just held in her barf. "I'm good." She declined.

Jean's face fell. I had to admit, his perseverance was admirable. Mikasa turned him down every single time and yet he still has asks her out with immense confidence.

As quickly as his face fell, Jean replaced his expression with another smug grin. "No worries beautiful. When you're ready to ride this horse, you'll know where to find me." He blew a kiss towards her and Mikasa pretended to catch it and throw it over her shoulder. Jean took that as his cue to go back to his table.

"Do you ever wonder how messy Jean's house must get after a party?" Armin questioned.

Huh. I haven't thought of that before. "Maybe he has several maids?" I pondered aloud.

"That is most likely the case." Armin agreed.

Armin and I continued to theorize and wonder about other party aspects that no one else cares to acknowledge. We both ceased our chatter when we noticed Mikasa silently getting up and walking away from our booth.

"Did we offend her?" I asked, confused at her sudden parting.

"Beats me. Maybe she's just going to the bathroom." Armin thought aloud while staring at Mikasa.

To our surprise, she didn't go to the bathroom but rather, she walked up to Jean and his groupies. She motioned for Jean to privately talk with her and he gladly complied.

I really wanted to know what she was talking to him about. Maybe she was asking him out? I shook my head. No. That's impossible. Mikasa isn't the type to ask a boy out on a date. Well, at the very least, she wouldn't ask _Jean_ out.

All of a sudden, Mikasa pointed to where Armin and I were seated and Jean looked over my way. I quickly averted my gaze and hoped that no shades of pink entered my face. After a few seconds passed by, I gathered the courage to look back up and was eased to see that Jean wasn't staring at my direction anymore.

When Mikasa walked back to our table, I eagerly began questioning her. "What was that about? Why did you guys look over our way? Did he say anything about us?"

"Eren, slow down. I talked to Jean about the party." She played around with her straw. I waited for her to elaborate and I realized that I would have to coax the information out of her.

"And...?" I asked.

"And, I don't like parties but I like you and Armin so I told Jean that I would come to his dumb party only if he invited you guys too. So congrats." She appeared to be embarrassed. Judging from the way she hid behind her scarf that is.

My eyes and mouth both widened in excitement as I register Mikasa’s words into my brain. She got us to go to a party! And not just any party- _Jean's_ party!

"Mikasa! I love you so much!" Was all I could say. I'm so lucky to have her in my life. I gave her a tight hug and she had a small smile on her face.

Armin clasped his hand over hers. "Mikasa. Thank you for your sacrifice. It means a lot to us."

Mikasa laughed. "It's no big deal. Just don't blame me when you both realize that parties actually suck and want to go home." 

I was so sure that that wasn't going to be the case at all. This was going to be the best party and I'll finally have my chance to show everyone the greatness that is Eren freaking Jaeger.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren meets a "cool" kid. :))

The next week at school I was roaming every hall with a new founded confidence. Soon, I'll be surrounded by people 24/7 just like Jean. Or even better, Jean and I will strode the hallways together surrounded by a flock of people everywhere we go.

It did kind of feel weird to do the confidence strut in my PE shorts though. I felt so exposed doing it while wearing them. Still, I can't walk around like I'm a nobody. We were doing warm up laps around the basketball courts. I was trying my best to jog and look cool at the same time but it was starting to get a bit challenging.

"Jaeger!" Coach Shadis yelled. "Why are you running funny? Do you need to see the nurse?"

"No sir!" I exclaimed, embarrassed for being called out on my walk.

"Good. Go to the shed and bring me the basketballs." He ordered. 

I sighed. I'm not weak but hauling over a large bag filled with basketballs was never fun. Especially since the shed was so far away and isolated from the rest of the blacktop.

I opened the old door to the shed and found the black sack sitting there, next to a bunch of other sports equipment. Most of them were never really touched. I looked around the shed and noticed how much crap was filled up in here. Soccer balls, volleyball nets, ball pumps, frisbees, kid squatting on the floor smoking a cigarette, tennis rackets-

Wait what?

I looked at the only other person in the shed with me.

"Yo." He greeted.

"Hi.." I said cautiously. Who is this guy? I looked at him. He was covered in black. From his tank top to his jacket, even to his boots! His hair was black too. I notice the chains that were hanging off his skinny jeans.

"Aren't chains against the school dress code?" I asked, pointing to them.

He laughed, which was unexpected. "I'm in a shed, ditching class and smoking a cigarette on school grounds and you're worried about my chains? You're pretty weird." He said, taking another draw from his cigarette. 

Our school wasn't crazy big. But it wasn't small either so I didn't know everyone here but after three years, you start to recognize people. But I feel like I've never even seen this guy at all.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Levi. I'm a transfer student."

I perked up hearing his words. A transfer student? That's amazing! Time to take him under my wing and show him the ways of Titan High. "That's so cool!" I cheered.

He scoffed. "No. Not cool. Transferring to a new school in your senior year and losing all your friends is not fun."

I choked on nothing. "You're a senior?!" I couldn't believe it. He looked so young!

"Yes, and if you mention anything about me not looking like one due to my height then I will drop kick your ass." He joked. Or at least I hoped he was joking... 

Either way, I figured I should do what I came here to do. I bent over to grab the bag. It was stuck under a bunch of other equipment so it took a bit of labor to pull it out.

"What's your name, sweet cheeks?"

I stumbled upon hearing those words and fell on my...er _sweet cheeks._

"It's Eren." I avoided facing him, feeling a tad embarrassed.

"Do you wanna ditch class and join me?" He offered.

"Oh no I probably shouldn't. Coach is expecting me to come back with these." I said jabbing my thumb towards the basketball bag thats still stuck under all the junk.

Levi sighed. He stood up and smushed his cigarette out. "Move over." He bumped me to the side and I wobbled on my feet and tried to keep my balance.

Before I could even suggest to help him out, Levi had already pulled the entire bag out by himself with ease. Wow, either he was super strong like Mikasa or I was really skipping out on my exercise. I subconsciously grabbed the bag from him. I realized that I must've been staring for a while because Levi started to look concerned.

"Is there something on my face?" He asked, wiping his cheek just in case something was there.

"No I uh.." I stammered, not really having a proper explanation. "I should head back now."

"Have it your way." He sat back down into his cozy spot. "The shed is always open if you ever need a ditching buddy." He did a mock salute.

I hauled over the bag as I made my way over to the rest of my class. That was really weird.

**

The next two hours were uneventful. Once again, I fell asleep in math class. I was about to get scolded by the teacher but luckily I was saved by the lunch bell.

I sat down at a vacant lunch table, watching the cafeteria chaos unfold. The line for the school lunch seemed longer than a mile and every student was sitting with their friends like a pack of wolves. I was always first to the tables because Armin has PE right before lunch and Mikasa has science- which is the farthest building from the cafeteria.

I opened my brown paper bag and started eating my sandwich. I quickly learned in my freshman year to bring food from home. I guess that's why the line was extra long this time. There were too many naive little freshman who had large expectations on the quality of our food. 

In the sea of high school students, I spotted one throwing away an entire tray of gunk into the trash can. It was Levi. He pulled out a travel sized hand sanitizer out of his pocket and vigorously rubbed his hands together. He happened to look over my way and I jumped in my seat. Without my permission, I raised my right hand in a pathetic attempt to say hi. I gave him an awkward smile and felt so dumb. He smirked and looked away. And just like that I regretted my whole existence. I probably looked like a sad fool too, since I was sitting all by myself. I quietly began eating my sandwich again.

"Wow, your food doesn't look like horse vomit, I'm jealous." A voice popped up.

Startled, I whipped my head up to see who had sat across from me. Levi was sitting with his elbows on the table, leaning forward. I gave a small laugh. "That is one way to put it I guess. Looks like you got a firsthand experience with our gourmet food." I said, referencing to him throwing away his pile of lump that was barely qualified as edible.

"Yeah, my mistake. I should've never assumed that a school lunch would actually be good." He rested his cheek in the palm of his hand and blew a bored breath out.

"You can have these." I offered a ziploc bag filled with grapes to him. He seemed taken aback.

"Take them. I don't really like grapes that much anyway." I told him before he could refuse.

He took them after that. "Thanks Eren." He popped one into his mouth while I was currently occupied with the thought that Levi actually remembered my name.

We continued to eat together in a quiet peace. Well for Levi's part at least. He seemed comfortable with the lack of talking going on. Meanwhile, my head was swarming with potential conversation topics but none of them were able to come out of my mouth. Levi propped one leg up on the seat and rested his arm on his knee. Never have I ever seen someone eat grapes in such a badass manner. He was observing the area around him. And while he was doing that, I was observing his features. He looked so fierce and mysterious, from his sharp locks to his pierced glaze- I was definitely ruining his whole "cool" image by sitting near him.

A harsh flick to the back of my head brought me back to reality. I rubbed the spot that had been attacked and turned to see who the offender was.

"Sup Gay-ger. Armin and Mikasa finally ditched you?" Jean teased, mentioning their absence.

My cheeks went red and I glared at him. "No! They're just running late that's all." I defended myself.

"Oh sorry, I didn't see your friend hot topic over here." He nodded at Levi. "Are you going goth now?" He laughed.

Levi didn't get offended at all and dismissed him with a passive middle finger. I turned to Jean, feeling like I had the upper hand this time. "Be careful Jean, Levi will drop kick your ass if you make fun of him." I said, quoting what was said to me earlier today.

Jean scoffed in disbelief. "Sure, I'll believe it when I see it." He left us and joined his table which of course was crowded as ever.

"What an ass." Levi voiced.

"Tell me about it!" I piped up. "He's always like this! Always strutting around acting like he owns the place, smiling like he's the king of the school- it pisses me off!" I huffed crossing my arms.

"I bet." Levi agreed. "It makes me wonder why you even like the guy."

I gasped and choked on my spit. I composed myself after a few coughs and calmly cleared my throat. "I don’t. I hate him with all my guts!" I lied through my teeth.

"Oh really? Then why did you get so red and nervous the minute jackass came over here?" He inquired.

"My face isn't red!" I cried out and hoped that my face wouldn't turn redder after that statement. "I don't like Jean. I hate him. End. Of. Story."

"Alright. Alright." He raised his hands in a defeated manner. "You don’t like him." I knew he wasn't buying my bullshit but I stuck to the golden rule: deny deny deny.

Wanting to desperately change the subject, I brought up Jean's party. "Anyways, he may be an ass but Jean is the most popular kid in my grade. He's throwing a party next weekend and I'm invited." I proudly boasted.

"Congratu-fuckin-lations." He said in a dead monotone voice.

"You should come too!" I gushed to him. "You could meet a lot of people there I bet."

"I don't know. Do you think I'm "cool" enough?" He mockingly asked with an eye roll.

"Definitely! You're the definition of cool! You'll have no problem getting in and-" I stopped my energetic rambling when I realized that Levi was being sarcastic. "Right. You were joking. Of course you'd be cool enough." I felt like such a dork.

"Let me give you a piece of advice kid." He leaned in and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "This whole high school social structure thing?" He moved his index finger around in a circle. "It's bullshit. In my eyes, Jean is no different from you and you're no different from me. Once high school is over, everyone will be forgotten. No one will remember the popular kids and no one will remember the losers. None of this popularity rank shit matters. Which is why I ditch most of my classes." He spoke as if he was preaching profound teachings.

"That last part didn't really follow through with the rest of your speech." I noted.

"You know what else I don't follow?"

"What?"

"The rules." 

There was a sparkle in my eye. This man knows how to live.

"Teach me how to be cool." I blurted out.

That seemed to have caught him off guard. "What?" 

"I've met you only today but you're the coolest person I've ever met." I praised him in my star struck glory. 

There was a glint in his eyes that was gone as fast as it came. "Tomorrow morning. Shed. We'll have our first meeting there.

I tried not to shake and dance in my seat even though I was full of excitement. All of a sudden, I was greeted with Armin and Mikasa's presence.

"Hey Eren, sorry for being late." Armin spoke for himself and Mikasa. "I had trouble finding my clothes and Mikasa had to make up a test.

"Hey guys." I greeted them back. Upon Mikasa's and Armin's arrival, Levi stood up.

"You can stay you know." I told Levi.

"I'm good. I've got places to be." He nodded his head at me as a goodbye while I wondered where he was going.

"Who was that?" Mikasa asked with eyes full of judgment and concern.

"Oh, that was just Levi. He's new here."

Armin choked on his food. " _That's_ Levi?"

"Yeah?" I confirmed with confusion in my voice.

"He's only been here for two weeks but his name is already spreading around the school. I heard that he had to move here to start a new and clean life style."

I laughed at how ridiculous Armin sounded. "What, like he was in a gang or something?"

Armin shrugged in response. "Who knows. That's what the people are saying. All I know is that he is not one to be messed with."

"Whatever. People were scared of me too when I was new. He's not hot shit." Mikasa mumbled under her breath, sounding a bit jealous.

Hearing Armin speak about the school's general consensus on Levi helped further confirm my assumption that Levi is the most perfect person I could get cool lessons from.

I couldn't wait for tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the chapter was short! I suck at writing long ones lol. Still, thank you so much for reading! Critiques are welcome, I'm always looking for improvement. Hope you enjoyed the (short) read!! c:


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi have a fun meetng (spoiler: it's not really a meeting)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy! quick question, do most of you guys use ao3 on your laptop/computer or do you use the mobile site on your phone? I personally use my phone.

I've always slept through every one of my alarms. Every morning there would be a plethora of alarms set and every morning I would snooze through them all. The only time I'd actually get up was when my mom came bursting through my door yelling about how late I was going to be if I didn't get my ass into gear. 

Today however, was different. I was so excited and curious about my meeting with Levi that I woke up before my alarm went off. My mom was surprised to see me downstairs so early and I actually got to see my father off before he left for work. Waking up early seemed pretty nice.

But I still think sleeping in is way better.

I found myself actually walking to school for once instead of running like a maniac. When I arrived, I made my way over to the shed. It looked as creepy and as isolated as ever. I wondered if Levi was already inside. What if he wasn’t and I looked too eager showing up so soon? Maybe I should be a few minutes late. Isn't that what they call "fashionably late"?

Whatever. I couldn’t wait any longer and went inside. I was sure that if someone was spying on me right now, I’d look like a freak. Insanely smiling and rushing to the inside of an old shed in the early morning and whatnot. They would probably think that I was shooting up some heroin in there. Which, I’m not gonna lie, wouldn’t be the craziest thing that goes down in this shed.

Instead of Levi, I was met with a bunch of old and unused sports equipment. I was disappointed at first but I figured that Levi was probably running late. 

**

When I arrived at school, it was 7:00. The only people who were here this early were the staff and nerds. I’ve spent exactly fifty minutes inside the shed and I feel like I have a new special bond with all the junk in here. They’re just used and abused sports appliances who need a little love and care from the physical education department.

The more time passed by, the more my mind tried to convince me that this was all a cruel prank by Levi and he and a bunch of other kids were laughing at the thought of me eagerly waiting inside a dusty shed. The image was so vivid and real and embarrassing that I almost got out and forgot about this whole thing.

I decided that I’ve spent enough time in here and got up. Before I could reach for the door, the handle jiggled from the outside and opened, causing me to see Levi. He raised his eyebrows at me, showing that he was slightly surprised to see me here before him. I let out a sigh of relief, glad to see that Levi was actually here and not laughing at me from afar.

“I’m glad to have such an eager student.” He addressed me with a smirk. “But that brings me to rule number one: Don’t come on time. On time means you have nothing better to do.”

I face palmed myself hard. “Ugh I _knew_ I shouldn’t have come so early! I mean, I did dabble with the whole punctuality thing before I got here but I thought that it didn’t matter!”

Levi observed me have my little freak out and gave a half laugh. “Whoa whoa. I was only joking. If I’d known you’d be here so early I wouldn’t have kept you waiting. My bad.” He apologized.

Relieved that I didn’t break any “cool” rules, I let out a sigh. "Well, I'm glad for that but now that you're here we only have-" I checked my phone for the time. 7:55. "Five minutes before the bell for first period rings!" I've crammed for tests before but I don't think five minutes is enough time for me to learn anything.

"Don't you worry about that." Levi reassured me. "We have plenty of time." He exited the shed and gestured for me to do the same.

We walked to the back of the school and stood by the fence. I was wondering what kind of lesson would take place in an area like this and Levi opened his mouth before I could ask.

"Our first lesson..." The school bell rang, indicating that we should both be in our respective classrooms by now. Levi saw the worry in my eyes and grabbed my wrist before I could start rushing to class. "...starts now."

Levi hopped over the fence like it was nothing. I was staring at him through the fence now.

"Levi!" I hissed. "Get back before someone sees you!" 

Even though I was nervous for him, Levi didn't seem to be worried or bothered at all. "Are you gonna come over or not?"

"I mean I want to, but what if a teacher sees us?" I asked, eyeing my surroundings with caution.

"Which is why you should hop over right now since the coast is clear." He advised me.

I looked at Levi. He looked so free on the other side of the fence, like nothing could stop him or get in his way of him and the outside world. I want to experience it too. I'm tired of being trapped in this cage and being treated like we're some sort of cattle-it’s humiliating! These were the best years of my life! I couldn't waste the majority of my youth sitting behind a desk all day. 

I grabbed the fence and started to climb over to the other side. I jumped down and stood next to Levi. Already I was starting to feel a difference. I could practically smell the freedom in the air. I took a big whiff of the beautiful outside world to take it all in.

I coughed my lungs out when I got a large intake of smoke from Levi's cigarette. When did he take that thing out? I regained myself and eagerly turned to him for our next plan.

"So, now what?" I asked with a wide grin, unable to hide my excitement.

Levi took another drag of his cigarette and shrugged. "Beats me. I’m not really familiar with this town yet so I don’t know any fun spots yet.”

“So, what do you normally do when you skip out on class?” I asked him.

“I just go to this tea shop not too far from here. But I doubt you’d want to-“

“Let’s go!” I cut him off. The adrenaline was kicking in and I couldn’t wait for what awaited us.

**

The tea shop Levi was talking about ended up to be Maria’s. Tea wasn’t the only thing they served on their menu however. I heard that their pastries were really good. Levi and I took our orders and sat down at a table. I watched Levi take a sip of his green tea. He held the cup weird. Like his hand was some claw from a crane machine and his drink was the prize. Except, unlike most claw machines, Levi actually had a firm grip on the thing and didn’t drop his cup.

“So, you’ve lived in this town longer than I have but you’ve never been here before?” Levi questioned me.

“Yeah.” I responded. “I mean, I think I came here once when I was younger but that’s it. I guess you could say…it wasn’t really my _cup of tea._ ” I stared at Levi waiting to see his reaction to my brilliantly improvised joke.

Instead, I got a hardened glare from him.”Pull that shit again and I guarantee this cup of tea will be all over your face.” He..he threatened? I still couldn’t tell if these were threats or jokes.

Either way, I laughed. I was having a good time right now. Maybe it was the mood of the moment. Everyone else was at school, probably doing some dumb worksheet and I’m outside, making horrible puns and potentially getting third degree burns.

I held my hot chocolate to my face. Levi teased me and called me an “actual brat” when he heard me order it but it’s not my fault that it tastes so good. It’s been ages since I had a cup and I took a large gulp.

Instant regret came as the scorching hot liquid coursed through my throat and down my lungs as I tried my best to swallow the drink without spitting it all over Levi. My mouth was full and the corner of my eyes started tearing up.

When the lava drink finally went down, I noticed Levi snorting and trying his best not to laugh. He turned to the side to hide his face and I saw his shoulders move up and down. Seeing him laugh like that made me realize two things. One: my poor tongue won’t be able to taste for a while. And two: seeing Levi with a smile on his face suited him much better.

Levi recovered from his laughter and smiled. I laughed too and realized how funny that probably looked to him. We were both in a good mood and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to chat business.

“So,” I began, twiddling my thumbs, “about this “becoming cool” thing..” I addressed, hoping to get the ball rolling.

“Eren, let me ask you something.” I nodded, silently telling him to go on. “Why do you want to be cool so badly?”

I felt like I was just put on the spot. My first thought was who doesn’t want to be cool but I don’t really think that’s the case. I only want to be cool to get with Jean more and maybe have his opinion change on me. Maybe that way, I could actually have a chance with him.

I sighed, knowing the risk I was about to take. “That day at school when I refused that I liked Jean…you knew that was bullshit, right?”

He eyed me cautiously as he answered. “I don’t want to say pretty much but..pretty much.

I sighed and hung my head low. Was I really that obvious? I looked back at up at him. “Yep, you were right. I’m head over heels for the jerk and I just want to impress him.” I confessed.

Levi let out a hum. "Thought so. That makes more sense. I still don't get why you'd come to me for help."

That was easy to answer. “You haven’t even been here for that long and everyone already knows who you are!” I said, remembering my conversation with Armin yesterday. “If there’s anyone who’s good at getting noticed and being the talk of the school, it’s you.”

Levi didn’t look too happy hearing that he was so popular. “Let me guess, they’re saying I’m sort of thug that’ll fuck anyone up if they so even look at me the wrong way?” he said as if he heard this a billion times before.

I wasn’t expecting him to be so on the nose about it. “Um. Yeah. Basically.” I told him.

“Well it’s not true.” He said, agitated. “Don’t get me wrong, I can fuck up anyone in this school.” He confirmed. “But, all these rumors keep everyone away from me. I’m not exactly the social type but it kind of sucks when you’re walking down the halls and everyone avoids you like the plague.”

I felt bad. Not only was everyone else misjudging Levi, but so was I. I actually believed all the rumors Armin told me and didn’t even think about asking Levi himself on what his story was. Maybe that’s why he was always hiding in sheds and ditching class.

I smiled at him. Sure, Levi seemed a bit intimidating at first but he’s been nothing but nice to me so far. “You should sit with me during lunch next time.” I proposed to him.

He had a blank expression on his face until a small grin appeared. He seemed a bit bashful upon his invitation. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! I'm still getting the hang of this writing thing so yeah!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the boys get some ice cream and act cute!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! this chapter is pretty short (as usual) but i still hope you have fun reading it!!

Levi has been sitting with me, Mikasa and Armin ever since I invited him that week. By now, everyone knows that we’re friends with him and a few people have even striked up a conversation or two with him. I was glad that the school was starting to see Levi’s true self versus the nasty rumors.

When Levi first sat down with us, it was a bit of a train wreck. Armin, of course, was welcoming and polite. Mikasa however…let’s just say it took awhile for the two of them to get along.

_“Oh so what, he’s just following you around like some sort of puppy?” Mikasa scrunched her face and glared at Levi._

 

_“He actually invited me here, princess.” Levi sassed back._

_“Well, I think you’re overstaying your welcome.” She huffed._

_“Mikasa, didn’t you follow Eren around everywhere when you were new?” Armin butted in. He had a sly smirk on his face as Mikasa’s face turned red._

_At that, Levi raised his eyebrows at her. “Oh? You had a crush on Eren?”_

 

_“That was before I knew he was gay!” she stammered._

 

Yep. Even though they had a rocky start at first, Mikasa and Levi get along pretty well now. Turns out they both share a love for weight lifting and dark humor.

Levi would always wait outside my class for me. It seemed as if he barely goes to his own though. I tried asking him about it once but he brushed it off. It was nice meeting up with him and walking around the school together. Several times, I would spot Jean from afar and Levi would motivate for me to talk to him. Of course, I would always get too flustered and Levi would then have to take matters into his own hands. Today was one of those days.

Levi and I were standing by some lockers, across from Jean. His group of friends was so big that it blocked the hallway path from others. It looked like Jean was telling a funny story, judging from his zany hand gestures. Everyone laughed and it looked like they were having a good time.

“Just go up there Eren.” Levi nudged me. “That group is so big, I’m sure no one will notice if you just squeeze in there.”

“I can’t!” I looked to Levi. “Jean hates me and I bet his friends do too.”

Levi stared at me in disbelief. “Really? Fucking Krista and Marco are in that group. You think those two would bite your head off?”

“No, but what if Ymir makes fun of me?” I asked, paranoid. “She’s the queen of roasting people.”

Levi rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. “Oh my god who gives a shit Eren? If something like that happens, I’ll kick everyone’s ass, ok?”

I laughed and put my hand on his shoulder. “Levi, I feel so honored that you would kick that many asses for me.”

“Um excuse me, protecting Eren via ass kicking is my job.” Mikasa popped in.

“And I can’t protect you through physical means but you know that I could find dirt on anyone in this school and use it to blackmail them, right?” Armin chimed in, standing next to Mikasa.

“Thanks guys.” I told all three of them. I was so grateful to have all three of them in my life. Friends who ruin lives together, stay together.

I saw Jean look over our way and noticed how he perked up when he saw that Mikasa was with us. I learned that if Mikasa was with me, Jean was guaranteed to show up.

Levi spotted me tensing up and he gently poked my side to get my attention. When I looked at him he smiled and whispered “Don’t worry.” to me. I tried my best to calm down as Jean made his way over.

“Sup Mikasa.” Jean greeted her and ignored the rest of us.”Your hair looks extra silky today.” He complimented.

“Uh, thanks.” Mikasa said while grabbing a piece of her hair to feel.

“Yeah, it looks so pretty and shiny, how do you get it like that?” Jean asked, trying to create conversation.

“I wash it?” she asked, not really understanding where Jean was going with this.

“I should join you in the shower and learn from you sometime.” Ah, there it is.

“I’ll bring a fucking toaster in with me if that happens.” She darkly muttered under her breath.

Levi, Armin and I all laughed while Jean looked baffled. Armin spoke up. “Wait, why would you even want to learn how to wash your hair from Mikasa? Are you saying you don’t know basic hygiene?” he playfully accused Jean.

“Wha? No!” he shook his head. “I was just saying that as a joke.”

Levi eyed Jean to me and nudged his head towards him, silently telling me to go for the kill now.

“I don’t think you have poor hygiene Jean!” I blurted out.

My statement silenced everyone and Jean looked at me strangely. “Uh, thanks Eren. I’m glad someone’s on my side.” He said, scratching the side of his head with uneasiness.

Jean turned to Mikasa. “All is forgiven my love. Don’t forget, my party is this weekend you guys. Bye Mikasa. Bye Eren.” He left, feeling embarrassed.

“Rude.” Armin said.

“Ugh, that was gross. Anyways, I’ll see you guys later.” Mikasa waved to us.

“Yeah me too!”

Mikasa and Armin walked the opposite direction to their class and I was alone with Levi. I turned to him, with a giddy expression all over my face. “Did you see that? Jean actually acknowledged me and it wasn’t to insult me! He even called me Eren, not Jaeger! Or gay-ger! Or any other weird alteration to my last name!”

“I say this calls for a celebration.” Levi suggested.

“Sure! After school?”

“I was thinking more like right now.”

“Nope. I do not want to have to deal with my parents a second time.” That day when they got a phone call from school mentioning my absence they were furious. Thanks to my mom I now know that a wooden spoon can be used for things other than cooking. I subconsciously rub my wrist at the memory.

“Suit yourself.” Levi shrugged while putting his hands in his pockets.

**

Last time we hung out, Levi mentioned how he didn’t really know the town yet so I decided to show him some of my favorite spots. Today’s destination, was the ice cream parlor.

Levi frowned once he saw where we were. “Ugh, I hate ice cream.”

I turned to him, slack jawed. “I did not just hear those string of words come out of your mouth.”

“It turns into a drippy mess if you don’t finish it on time. Plus it’s too sweet.” He tacked on that last part.

I ignore his disrespectful opinion on the dessert and walk inside to wait in a small line. “But I’m sweet and you enjoy me!” I joked.

I thought my joke was funny but Levi didn’t react well to it. He just mumbled a yeah under his breath.

I ended up getting cookies and cream and got two spoons. We went outside and sat down on a bench near the park. I took a spoonful and blissfully hummed as the sweet, savory flavor entered my mouth. I gave the second spoon to Levi and told him to try some.

He seemed a bit hesitant, staring at the spoon like it was going to attack him. Finally he took a piece and his face brightened up. It was surprising and also kind of…cute?

“That doesn’t look like the face of someone who supposedly hates ice cream.” I teased.

“It’s actually not that bad.” He reluctantly confessed.

We continued sharing the ice cream. That is until Levi accidently dropped his spoon onto the floor. We both stared at it in silence.

“5 second rule?” I offered, trying to give him my best convincing smile.

“Disgusting. Don’t even mention such a crude act.” Oh right. I forgot how big Levi was on germs and cleanliness.

“I guess sharing is out of the question..” I mused.

Apparently saying the mere action out loud was appalling enough for Levi. The way his face contorted showed like he was asking me if I was serious. I laughed at his dramatic reaction. “Okay, I guess not.” Still, feeling bad though, I offered Levi to get another spoon from the store.

“No it’s fine. I don’t really care anymore.” I didn’t believe him. He looked so joyful and sweet when he was eating it! Levi knew exactly what I was thinking and forced me to just sit down and “eat my stupid ice cream.”

It didn’t take me long to finish the rest. I guess devour would be more like it. No wonder Mikasa and Armin call me a human trash can. I turned to Levi, grin wide. I found him oddly zoning in on my mouth, which I thought was a bit unusual. And now, because he was staring at my mouth my stupid eyes had to unintentionally look at his and you know, not to sound weird or anything, but Levi has a nice mouth. It’s thin and small but fits so well with the rest of his face proportions. Not to mention, it’s a bit mesmerizing seeing the way his lips part open more and more and-

I suddenly realize that Levi was staring at me with a particular look of annoyance in his eye and his mouth was not slowly parting in desire, but rather opening in disgust. Suddenly feeling bashful and on the spot, I covered the lower half of my face.

”W-what?” I asked him, insecurity lacing my voice.

“You have ice cream all over the side of your mouth.” He pointed out. Oh.

I was about to wipe it off but Levi whipped a handkerchief out of his pocket at lightning speed. He forcefully took my face between his two hands and moved my head down to his face level.

Yes, he was being a bit insistent. Yes, my cheeks kind of hurt from how hard Levi was grabbing them. But the only thing I was focusing on right now was how close I was to Levi’s face. He was currently occupied with cleaning my face and I used this moment to get a good look at him. His eyebrows were furrowed in determination to wipe that small stain. His eyes had a small hint of blue in them, something I would have never noticed before. I even saw his tongue poke out of his mouth and the whole sight was too sweet.

I must’ve been entertained staring at his face because before I knew it, Levi was pulling away and shoving the handkerchief away. He clicked his tongue at me.

“Honestly, you don’t have to eat like a dog you know.” He chastised.

My face went from stunned, to smiling, to laughing out loud. Levi is..a bit peculiar, but I like it a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! let me know what you think! :) Also, i took Mikasa's toaster insult from a slap on titan (https://youtu.be/_k-_0XjOEH8?t=12m54s) It's so funny


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren finally goes to Jean's party! *law and order sound effect*

I gulped as I stared at the huge house in front of me. Jean always lived in the nicer part of town. I don’t know what his parents do exactly but I know they’re always away on business trips. It explains how Jean could get away with all of his crazy parties. I could hear the dance music booming all the way from outside and I even see a few people out on the front porch talking and sharing drinks. Mikasa, Armin, and Levi are all already inside I bet. We all agreed on arriving at 7 but I ended up leaving the house a little bit late. I was stuck deciding which outfit I should wear. This is _the_ party after all. I have to impress Jean. I looked down to examine my clothing choice. A fitting pair of blue jeans and a grey shirt with a dark green jacket on top. I take a few deep breathes to help calm my bubbling nerves down. It doesn’t really seem to help. I shook my head, getting rid of all the doubts and worries flooding inside of me. No turning back now.

I walk inside and I’m immediately greeted by chaos. It looked like a zoo had escaped in here! There was so much going on at once, I didn’t know what to begin with. I set my goals on finding Levi. If tonight was going to go smoothly, I would need him by my side at all times. But where would I find a certain brooding teenager at a high school party…

Right. The corner. I make my way over to the most secluded, depressing corner of the house and instead, I was greeted with another gloomy black-haired teen.

“Mikasa?”

“Hey Eren. Isn’t this party so “fun”?” She made a fake rainbow with her hands and wiggled her fingers. She returned to slouching and crossing her arms. “Don’t ask me where Armin is, Reiner whisked the poor boy away the second we got inside. He said he needed him to do something for Krista and Annie. I think he mentioned something about wearing short skirts?” She sighed. “I don’t know..”

I wasn’t even going to ask about Armin but now I have a disturbing image of my best friend in my head. “Um, no. I was going to ask where Levi was.”

“I think he said he needed to-and I quote- ‘take a big ass shit.’” She huffed.

I thank Mikasa and encouraged her to go out and have some fun, but she said she was perfectly happy in her nice little spot. I checked every single bathroom downstairs and found no luck. I decided to check upstairs and in doing so I realized that Jean’s house had way too many bathrooms. I roamed through the hall and I noticed a door that was peeked open. It was too small to be the master bedroom and judging from the bikini babe posters, it didn’t look like a vacant guest room either. That room had to be Jean’s, no doubt. 

I know I shouldn’t go into his room. It’s not what I came here for and it’s an invasion of his privacy. Besides, the last thing I would want is Jean finding me creeping inside his bedroom like some sort of weirdo. I have no business in snooping into his room. Nope.

But on the other hand, this is my crush’s room after all. How many times have fantasized myself being in this room? On his bed? Now’s my chance to get a good look at it and see if the real deal matches my imagination.

I ignore my conscience and invite myself in. I take a moment and bask in all of the room’s glory. An unmade bed, dirty laundry scattered across the floor, lotion and crumpled up tissues by the night stand.

Ugh, this is definitely not how it looked like in my dreams. I know that Jean isn’t too keen on cleanliness but I didn’t expect for his room to be so…

“Tch. Fucking disgusting, am I right?”

I yelped at the realization that I’m not alone. I turn around and see Levi leaning against the wall. He greets me with a smirk and a nonchalant peace sign.

“How long have you- why are you here?” I asked, trying to play it cool.

“I should be asking you that. Looks like you were about to go all psycho and smell his bed sheets.” He accused.

“No! They don’t look clean.” Levi gave me a questioning look. “I mean, I wouldn’t have smelled them even if they were clean!” I exclaimed, trying to redeem myself.

Levi laughed, which caused me to stop for a moment. Levi’s laughs were rare but they were so nice. I could never get used to it. I looked at him. As usual, he looked amazing. He wore a white crop top with an oversized black jacket on top and he had on his usual black jeans and boots. I stared at the exposed part of his body. His jeans were high rise, so it covered most of his navel but the parts that I did see looked amazing. Levi may be small but I know that he’s packed under all those clothes. Seeing him in this crop top only helped confirm my theory.

“I had to take a shit.”

Leave it to Levi to be so blunt about everything.

“So you took one in Jean’s room?” I asked, still not understanding what business he has here. Then again, I should be the last person questioning others for trespassing in random rooms.

Levi tsked and playfully knocked on my head. “Anything inside there? Obviously, I’m trying to see if anything in here will help you get that horse dick.”

I cringed. While I understood what Levi meant, it was weird when he worded it that way.

Levi picked up a magazine from under the bed. “Here’s an example of what Jean likes.” 

I shot him a look. It was your typical dirty magazine filled with severely underdressed women. “You know I don’t have what they have.” It always pained me when I remembered that Jean was the straightest guy I knew. Still, a small part of me deep down hopes for Jean to have mutual feelings for me.

“No no. That’s where you’re thinking wrong. You gotta look past the whole anatomy thing and notice what’s between the lines.” He flipped through the pages and stopped. Two pages were stuck together and Levi winced as he carefully tore them apart. “I’m going to need to bathe in bleach after this.” He mumbled under his breath. Levi shoved the grossly sticky paper in front of my face.

“What do you see here?” I was about to answer before he cut me off. “Rhetorical question. It’s a girl. But what _kind_ of girl?”

I stared at the photo. It was a girl dressed in a school outfit that barely did its job on covering her up. She had glasses on that clearly weren’t useful and just for show. Her dark hair was tied up in pigtails and she had a shy expression on her face. In another shot, she was tugging at the hem of her short skirt while looking away with a small blush on her face.

“Jean likes the timid and innocent type!” Levi cried out like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “That and he likes girls with black hair.” He added on. Right. Mikasa has black hair. I don’t.

I felt like I shouldn’t even try anymore. “Timid? Timid is the exact opposite of what I am!”

“You just got to pretend to be the shy type until Jean falls for you. Until then, put a cap on all that rage you have.”

I scoffed. Rage practically flows through my veins.

Levi gave me a small reassuring smile. “Hey, you’ll be fine. I won’t leave your side this night, so if you need me, I’ll be right here.” Levi rammed his shoulder into mine. I laughed at his endearing gesture and rubbed the spot he attacked me at.

“Oh please. I didn’t even hit you that hard.” Levi chuckled at my action.

I strongly disagree. “You rammed into me hard!” I loudly exclaimed.

A beat passed.

“Shit, that came out wrong.” A wave of embarrassment hit me.

As if it were normal of me to make a fool out of myself, Levi paid no attention to my comment and walked out of the room, urging me to follow along. “Yeah I bet it did. Come on, let’s go downstairs so Jean can be the one ramming into you.” He teased.

I hurried to his side. There was something itching at me and I couldn’t help but ask. “So if Jean’s type is innocent, what’s your type?”

He took a long good look at me before turning away and answering. “I guess I’m drawn to the stupidly reckless type.”

That caught me off guard. For how serious he was, I figured Levi would go for the more reclined and calm type. I felt like he wouldn’t want to deal with a partner who’s more trouble than fun. I laughed. “It’s funny, I can’t really imagine you being with someone like that.”

Levi stared at me with a pensive gaze. He smiled and shook his head. “I can.”

**

It was no surprise that the party was still as crazy as ever when we arrived back downstairs. Levi and I made our way to the living room and got stopped by Reiner. We have a few classes together but I don’t really talk to him much other than that.

“Eren! Good to see you man!” he greeted me, friendly as always. “Look, I need your help. Will you please tell Armin that he has the legs for a pencil skirt?” he moved out of the way to show a fidgeting Armin. He had a small blush and looked uncomfortable. I felt like he could’ve easily fit in one of Jean’s pervy magazines.

“Yeah..he does.” I said in my state of shock. I didn’t actually expect Armin to pull off the look. He always did have a more feminine physique. The skirt hugged him in all the right places and it made his legs look flattering. “Wait, where’d you even get that skirt?” I asked.

“Jean’s mom’s closet was full of em!” Reiner exclaimed.

“Can I have my pants back now?” Armin pleaded.

“I found this cute dress that you can wear Armin!” Krista popped up with a gleam in her eye. It was a short, skin tight red dress.

A small gentle tap on my shoulder brought me out of my amusement. I turned around and was met with a smiling Marco. 

“Hey Eren. Jean wanted me to let you know that he’s starting a game and he said to find Mikasa.”

A game? I knew he wasn’t talking about video games or anything of the sort. Not if he wanted Mikasa to join so badly.

“A game?” Reiner butted in. “I love games!” he shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Ugh Armin, _please_ keep your pants to yourself.” Jean joined the rest of us and chucked a pair of pants at Armin’s face. The poor boy gladly received them and quickly changed into them.

Jean looked at the ground and groaned aloud. “Alright, which one of you pervs took my mom’s clothes?” he asked, picking up the dress.

Reiner and Krista gave each other guilty side looks.

“Shit, hide those heels you brought.” Krista whispered to Reiner.

Reiner secretly flung the 4-inch platforms out of sight.

Jean shook his head. “Whatever.” He then turned to my direction and snapped his finger at me. “Eren. I need you to summon my goddess Mikasa over here.” He ordered me like I was some low class assistant.

I sighed. I really didn’t feel like looking for her so I opted for the next best thing. I cupped my hands around my mouth and took a deep breath. “Oh no, I am irritated and let my emotions get the best of me. I guess the only thing to do now is to solve this matter with physical violence and get severely beaten up in the process of it.” I announced loud enough for everyone to hear.

Jean gave me a questioning look and I cut him off with my index finger.

_Three..two.._

“Eren! Don’t do the stupid thing!” Mikasa came rushing out of nowhere. She took a good look at her surroundings and eased down when she realized that there was no real danger here. Upset at being tricked, Mikasa slumped her shoulders and began to turn around.

I grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from leaving. “Please stay Mikasa. For me?” I begged. I knew that the only reason I was here at this place was because of her.

She sighed. “You’re lucky I can’t say no to you.” She gave in.

I smiled at her. Mikasa always came through.

Now that everyone was here, Jean finally told us to sit down in a circle. I had a feeling I knew where this was going and once Jean pulled out an empty bottle and placed it at the center, my suspicions were confirmed.

I leaned over to Levi who was right next to me-just like he promised. “Shit, is this my chance?” I whispered to him. I was trying my best to remain calm on the outside but I think he could hear how frantic I felt through the sound of my voice.

“Hell yeah it is, you better pucker those lips.”

“But what if I spin it and the bottle doesn’t land on Jean?” I definitely did not want to end up kissing someone else.

“Don’t you worry about that. I will guarantee that you’ll end up landing the bottle on Jean.”

I didn’t know what he meant by that and before I could ask Jean began to speak. “Alright. The game is 7 minutes in heaven. A simple game with simple rules. One person spins the bottle and they have to spend seven minutes inside the closet with whoever it lands on.”

Jean did the honors of spinning the bottle first and while it was moving Jean shut his eyes and put his hands together in a praying gesture, silently begging for it to land on Mikasa.

“Please God land on Mikasa. Please. Please. Please!” he begged with all his might.

Mikasa, who was not too far from me muttered “If there is a God, he won’t make this bottle land on me.”

To Jean’s dismay and Mikasa’s relief, the bottle landed on Marco. Jean seemed upset and complained about ending up with “another dude” while Marco had a strong blush on his face.

God, I wish that were me.

The game carried through and there were some weird matches along the way. Everyone laughed when Ymir and Reiner had to spend seven long uneventful minutes inside the closet. Others, got lucky-like Sasha and Connie. Levi spun the bottle and got stuck with Bertolt, who was already a sweaty mess to begin with but take that and add a very menacing Levi into the mix-well, let’s just say Bertolt looked terrified after sitting next to Levi in a closed space for several minutes. By the time it was my turn I was shaking. On one hand, I was worried if I wasn’t going to end up with Jean and on the other hand, I would be even more worried if it _did_ land on Jean. I gulped and spun the cursed bottle with as much force I had.

The bottle began slowing its momentum and I started to feel sort of dizzy from staring at it so intensely. My heart picked up its pace as it began to slow down towards Jean’s area. However, it stopped on Reiner who was right next to Jean. My heart dropped to my stomach. I was so damn close and Reiner was the last person I wanted. He tends to be a bit much at times. I mean he put Armin in a skirt for crying out loud!

Before anyone could say anything, Levi unfolded his legs and stretched them to the center. He coughed and slightly tapped the bottle with his toe, causing it to point to Jean.

“Hey!” Jean cried, clearly witnessing Levi’s cheating.

“What?” Levi asked, pretending to be innocent. He quickly replaced his fake innocence with a threatening glare. “There’s no problem over here, right?” he stressed the last word, implying that Jean better go along with his scheme or else.

“N-no. I guess not.” Jean sighed and gestured for me to get inside the closet.

Never thought I’d be going back inside there.

My body was on autopilot. I couldn’t register anything else in my brain except for Jean. Once we were inside the dark, cramped closet, I came to my senses.

“S-so um, this is a bit awkward.” I said, breaking the silence.

“Can’t believe I have to be stuck in a closet with you of all people. I feel like we’re gonna end up fighting.” Jean said rather annoyed.

Damn my reputation for being violent. I can’t even set a good mood in here.

“Do you want to at least try to do something while we’re in here?” I asked, trying my best to sound casual and that this isn’t the biggest deal for me.

Jean looked at me, baffled. “What? No! I’m not gay like you are.” He claimed. 

“How do you know? You never even kissed another boy!” I accused. 

“I just know! Why do you even care?”

I stayed silent, not wanting to answer that question. I didn’t know how much time has passed. Jean sat there, annoyed and impatient to get out of this small space. I had to do this now. I wouldn’t get another chance otherwise.

Leaving all rational thoughts out the window, I leaned in and gave Jean a lingering peck on the lips. I ignored his surprised jolt. I’ve been dreaming of this moment for the longest time now and could feel his soft lips against mine. Before I could process anything else however, I was pulled away.

I knew I acted on impulse and that Jean would not expect a random kiss from me. What I didn’t expect however was for him to look so upset when he pulled away from me. He swiped the back of his hand across his mouth and my heart cracked. He looked at his hand then back at me. He was angry and for once I wasn’t angry back at him. I felt humiliated.

“I’m sorry Eren. I just don’t like you that way.” 

I just sat there in silence. It’s not like I could get mad at him or anything. I knew he was straight and I still went to kiss him. I felt anger towards myself. I wanted to get away from Jean as soon as possible.

Fortunately for the both of us, Ymir opened the door letting us know our time was up.

We continued the game as usual but I wasn’t feeling the spirit. Levi tried coaxing information out of me but my lack of answers led him to assume the obvious. I was glad he didn’t pester me about it because right now I just wanted to be left alone with my thoughts.

I noticed Armin looking at me from the corner of my left eye. When I looked up, I realized that everyone had their eyes on me. I automatically lifted my hand to my cheeks to see if they were wet. I had this weird habit of crying without even realizing it. It felt dryer than a desert there. That’s when I finally noticed the bottle pointed at me. I was so out of it, I didn’t even see who spun the bottle in the first place.

Levi stood up and stretched his arms and legs. He eyed me and jabbed his thumb to the closet door.

I followed him inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read my story! Comments and kudos are very appreciated!! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the partayyy

The second we were alone together, Levi bombarded me with questions.

“What happened in there? Did you lay it on smooth like I told you to? Did you kiss? Make out? Tell me you at least made it to third base.”

I dropped my façade and let my frustration show. “Oh I laid it on him alright. I planted a kiss on him when he so obviously didn’t want one!”

“Don’t worry, you just say the word and I’ll beat his ass. I can even bring Mikasa too if you want. We don’t even have to explain anything to her, she’ll gladly comply.” Levi half joked.

I rubbed my hands on my face and stared at the ceiling with irritation. “No. It’s okay. For once I’m acknowledging the fact that I jumped the gun.” 

I stayed silent, still feeling upset and embarrassed over the whole ordeal.

“Stop sulking. It’s not over yet.” Levi told me.

“He flat out rejected me!” I exclaimed. “I don’t think I can ever face him again. I probably have to change my name, switch schools and never speak of this again!” Jean’s out there right now, probably telling everyone how I came onto him like a pathetic loser. 

“Oh please, you’re overreacting.” He tried to calm me down. “I’m sure you didn’t act _that_ bad. You just need a few tips.”

I lifted my head up. “I do?”

“Yeah. You have terrible timing.” He noted. “The key is patience. Woo Jean with all your charm and he’ll be putty in your hands like that.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis. 

“My..charm?” I had no clue on how to romance someone.

“Jesus Eren, do I have to spell everything out? You have all of the tools, you just need to learn how to use it! First off, you have to close the distance between yourself and Jean. Like this.” Levi demonstrated by inching closer to me. “And for fucks sake, if you have gorgeous eyes, _use_ them.” He rolled his eyes and I was glad that my blush couldn’t be seen in this dark closet. “Flutter your eyelashes, look at the boy with want and need, all of that sappy bullshit.” Levi continued to mentor me. I did as I was told and stared with a certain longing in my eyes. I was always a bit jealous of Levi’s beauty. I could never feel at ease whenever I stared at his piercing gaze. His dark, black bangs fell perfectly above his eyes and he had this amazing jaw line-

“That’s good. Biting your lip like that will definitely get Jean in the mood.”

I didn’t even realize I was biting my own lip until Levi brought it up.

“The last-and most important- thing to do is to assert your dominance.” Levi spoke. Before I could even question what he meant by that, my thoughts turned into mesh. Levi forcefully grabbed my face until we were mere inches apart from each other. I involuntarily gasped and could feel myself growing redder. Embarrassed, I tried turning my head away but couldn’t because of Levi’s firm grasp on me. I nervously stared at his intense and serious expression. He looked as still as a statue. The only time he made any kind of movement was when his eyes flickered down to my lips.

I don’t know why, but I let my eyes close and slightly puckered my lips. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting or why even did that. Would Levi go as far as to show me how to kiss the right way? Is it bad if I didn’t mind if he were to show me how?

I kept my eyes shut, waiting for Levi to show me the next step. His hands still cupped my face softly and I could feel his gentle, warm breathing. I started to feel his warmth reach closer and closer to my mouth and I felt my heart beat accelerate. I was so nervous and yet I still didn’t want to pull away. I stayed still, waiting for something to happen.

“Time is up- whoa! I’ll give you two love birds some extra minutes if you need it.” My eyes jolt open and I find a cheeky Ymir standing by the doorway with one of her infamous smirks. I look over to Levi, who had already pulled away from me. I felt disappointed, for some odd reason. He sort of looked..upset? He was avoiding my direction so it was hard to tell.

Levi and I exited and I had completely forgot that I was at a party. Luckily, no one else heard Ymir’s little comment so everything was normal. I assumed that the game was over because the group had dispersed and everyone else seemed to be doing their own thing. I heard a bunch of hollers and cheers by the dining table and turned to Levi but to my surprise, he was gone.

“Hey, where did Levi-”

“He said he desperately needed to shit.” Armin informed me. Man, what’s with Levi and his bowels today?

I thought about checking up on him just to make sure he’s okay but my curiosity led me to where everyone else was.

I saw a large group huddled around something, different cheers ringed through my ears and as I squeeze my way in I realize that the main event that had everyone so amped up was an arm wrestling match between the big and buff Reiner and the quiet, god-strengthened Mikasa. Both of their arms were in the middle, but Reiner looked like he was slipping a bit. His arm kept jerking towards the table but he used all his force to keep it upright. While Reiner looked like he was about to pop a vein, Mikasa looked like she was about to fall asleep any minute. A few people, like Connie and Ymir, were screaming at the pair to “fuck each other up” while others, like Armin, Bertolt, and Krista, were quietly supporting their respected friend.

I, of course, was cheering for Mikasa, but I was wondering if Reiner could actually beat her. Just as I was starting to even imagine such a thing, Reiner’s arm slammed onto the table and he buried his head in defeat. Mikasa had a small smile on her face as the group cheered for her. I was glad to see that even she was having fun at this party.

Reiner quickly recovered from his defeat and propped his right arm on the table.

“You may have beat me with your dominant hand, but let’s see how easy you’ll win when you’re playing with your left.” He challenged her.

Staying straight-faced, Mikasa complied by grabbing a hold of Reiner’s hand with her left. “I’m ambidextrous.”

A string of “ohhhs” hollered out of everyone’s mouths and I felt the competitive tension in the room increase. This time, Sasha and Connie acted like two sports commentators. Except, they were only pointing out unimportant details like how hard Reiner was gritting his teeth or how stone cold Mikasa’s face was.

Reiner won the second round and Mikasa congratulated him on a good game. All of a sudden, Annie pushed past Reiner and propped her elbow on the table.

“I want to test my strength on a beast like you.” She told Mikasa.

If the entire party wasn’t hyped before, they sure as hell were now. A couple of loud excited screams erupted and I think I even heard a few people place their money on who was going to win. I was invested into the game, not knowing who was going to win. Mikasa was strong, that’s for sure. But I’ve seen Annie kick ass before and she’s no weakling either. I immediately thought that Levi would definitely excel at this type of thing and decided that I was going to find him and make him participate in this match, no matter how much he doesn’t want to. I wanted to see him in action.

**

Knowing Levi, he probably wanted some privacy during his bathroom time and went upstairs so I did exactly that. I knocked a couple of times on the bathroom door and called out his name but I received no response. I tested the door knob and to my surprise, it was unlocked and empty. I was going to go check downstairs again but a small noise emerging from Jean’s room made me do otherwise.

I pushed the door open and barged right in. “Hey, what are you do-

I cut myself of mid-sentence as my brain registered the horrible sight in front of me. Levi was not in Jean’s room, but rather Jean himself.

Sitting on his bed.

Tangled up with Marco.

The two quickly pulled away, staring at me with guilt. For the second time that night, I felt my heart crush into pieces.

Jean jumped off his bed and quickly shut the door before anyone else could find us. He turned to me, frustration shown clearly all over his face.

“Eren. Look, I know this looks weird-“

“Yeah, a bit.” I spat out. “Because you made it so painfully obvious that you weren’t into guys when I came onto you and now I find you sucking face with Marco.” It hurt even more when I said it out loud.

Jean sighed. “No, Eren, it’s nothing like that I swear. You’re a good guy. It’s just..I like Marco. I can’t change that. Please, don’t take it the wrong way. Despite what you may think, I don’t hate you. You’re pretty cool to be honest.”

Ugh, _why_ did he have to show his sweet side right now?

“So please, _please_ don’t tell anyone that I’m with a guy. I’m not ready for people to know. I’m sorta confused about this whole thing.” He pleaded, desperate for me to stay silent about his secret.

I once knew what it was like to be inside the closet. Luckily, no one ever caught me red handed like I just did with Jean. If that were to happen to me, I’d be the same exact way. Desperate and terrified that my dirty laundry would be aired out to the menacing public.

“I know how it feels. I won’t tell a soul, your secret is safe with me.”

Relief washed over Jean’s face and he pulled me into a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” He chanted. Funny, I thought I’d feel a thousand emotions if Jean ever hugged me and now all I feel is empty.

I looked at Jean and Marco. “I..I hope it works out between the two of you.” I closed the door and let them be.

With my mood gone sour, I didn’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of people so I snuck out to the front porch and sat down on the steps. How can I get over something that never even happened?

“What’s with your constipated face?” Levi observed with a cigarette in between his fingers.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked, ignoring his question.

“Just needed to get out of there and breathe a bit.” He sat down next to me and placed his attention to me. “Why are _you_ out here?”

I was about to tell him what happened but I remembered that I was sworn to secrecy. As much as I wanted to confide my feelings to Levi, I knew that it wouldn’t be right of me. If I told Levi what was wrong, I’d be outing Jean at the same time. 

“I was looking for you.” I told him. Which wasn’t a complete lie.

”You should be in there with Jean, not me. If you keep hanging around with me then we’ll never get to phase two.”

“Phase two?”

“Phase two. The phase where Jean realizes how amazing you are. He’s a bit dense so it may take a while.” He tried to crack a smile out of me.

“That phase can wait. I want to be with you right now.” I spoke honestly. If anyone were to make my mood slightly better, Levi would be the one.

He looked a bit shocked to hear that but accepted it anyways. “Alright.”

Even though Levi didn’t say anything, just having him there by my side increased my mood a bit. It was so peaceful out. The light breeze in the air, the faint sound of crickets chirping and the occasional car driving down the street, Levi’s shoulders barely grazing against mine- all of them helped clear my mind.

“It’s beautiful.” Levi spoke up.

“Hm?” I looked at him and he pointed a finger up to the sky.

A couple of stars were out and twinkling and standing out against the dark night. I snuck a glance at Levi while he was immersed with staring at the sky. He looked at stars in awe and his mouth was slightly open in a child like wonder. His eyes were almost as bright as the stars in the sky.

“Yeah.” I said, keeping my gaze fixed on him. “It is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, kudos (heh) to all fanfic authors out there! Writing and creating a story isn't easy but it's fun nontheless. Thank you for reading!! <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back with a new chapter. This took way too long to update and I feel bad but I'm not abandoning it!! It just takes a while. Anyways, thank you for reading! :)

Going back to school like everything was normal was easier said than done. In just one weekend, I went from being completely infatuated with Jean to absolutely heart broken. Worst of all, everyone around me noticed the rain on my parade and I couldn't even explain why it was happening. Armin and Mikasa both noted that I've been more "tired" lately and even Reiner said in class that I look out of it. I've been going out of my way to make sure I don't run into Jean in the halls. I can't face him without feeling like a fool. Especially now that he knows about my unrequited feelings. 

Unfortunately, it was hard to avoid Jean thanks to Levi. He chalked up my recent bad mood due to me not being able to kiss Jean at the party. Little does he know though. I tried explaining to Levi that we should take a break on this whole "Get Jean to Madly Fall in Love with Me" plan, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. In fact, he's been more motivated than ever to get me with him. 

It was frustrating.

"Okay, you don't have any classes with Jean, so you're going to have utilize yourself in the hallways during passing period. Make sure to stop by his locker so he's forced to chat with you." Levi was walking with me while I made my way to class. His directions went through one ear out the other. My current goal was not related to what Levi was talking about right now.

"You got all that?" Levi asked 

"Yep." I lied. 

He gave me a scrutinizing side eye, not believing my answer. Levi shrugged it off. "It's fine. We have a whole school year to get you laid, no need to rush." 

I snorted at his joke and of course, Levi heard it.

"Did you just.." he let his question linger in the air because he couldn't even say the entire thing without stifling a laugh.

"What? No I didn't!" I said, getting very defensive all of a sudden. 

Levi laughed. "Ha! You did! You totally did!" He began to laugh some more. 

I grew angry, mostly because I was embarrassed and I wanted Levi to shut up before anyone else looks over here and wonder why Levi was laughing so hard right now. 

"You fucking _snorted _!" He said between giggles. "You snorted like some cute fucking pig!" He clutched his stomach with his arm. "It hurts! It hurts!"__

____

I've never seen Levi laugh this hard before. And if this were under any other circumstances, I would've joined and laughed alongside with him. But he was laughing at my expense so, I obviously was not amused. 

____

I crossed my arms, still feeling conscious over this whole ordeal. "It's not _that_ funny." I said.

____

"Yes it is!!" He continued to laugh. It turned into one of those laughs where you can't even stop for air and he repeatedly hiccuped with laughter. Again and again and again until-

____

I perked up at hearing a pig-like squeal come out from Levi's mouth. 

____

Levi quickly ceased his laughing and looked over my way, to see if I heard him. 

____

Oh, I heard alright. 

____

With a sly grin, I pushed my my nose up to mimic a pig's and began to make all sorts of pig noises to Levi. 

____

Now being his turn to be the butt of a joke, Levi lightly shoved me and told me to stop. Though, it was hard to take him seriously when he was still laughing like a maniac. 

____

I pushed his nose to resemble a pig's as well. I didn't really ask if I could, my body just sort of took over. When I saw what he looked like I went into a fit of laughter.

____

We were both laughing too hard to even notice the bell ringing.

____

***

____

I choked back a yawn, not wanting to give my teacher an excuse to call on me. The only reason my head wasn't smacked down onto the table was because my arm was barely holding it up. 

____

I'm sure that we were discussing something important, judging from how the teacher underlined some terms on the board and tapped on it several times with his expo marker. I just couldn't bring myself to pay attention. I can't even keep my eyes open right now. I cursed my past self for not going to bed earlier. I knew that binge watching a show at eleven p.m. was a bad idea, but my impulsive behavior and pestering curiosity got the best of me. I ended up finishing the entire season around three a.m.

____

Not being able to handle the tedious environment of the classroom anymore, I asked the teacher to go to the bathroom as an excuse to get out of that dreaded class for a bit. I walked around the school, already feeling more awake. My mind instantly wandered over to Levi. He's a senior, so he's not in any of my classes. I wish he was. It would make the time go by faster. 

____

I had a feeling I knew exactly where Levi was right now and I went to check to see if I was right. 

____

I opened the door to the old shed, expecting to find a certain lonely boy sitting inside. Lo and behold, I found one. Levi was laying down, using a drawstring bag filled with tennis balls as a pillow. His back was on the floor and his knees were propped up. He drew a cigarette from his mouth. 

____

"Welcome to my lovely abode." He kept his gaze on the ceiling as he greeted me. He treated the situation so casually, like it was normal for us to meet at a shed-which it sort of was, I guess. 

____

"You shouldn't be smoking in an enclosed shed." I chastised. "Or at all for that matter." 

____

"Yeah and you shouldn't be ditching class right now." He retorted. 

____

Hmm, touché. "Move over." I found myself a spot next to Levi and sat down, my back leaning against the not-so-comfortable sports equipment. I hugged my knees close. 

____

"So, you just hang around the shed all day?" I asked him. 

____

He looked at me and put out his cigarette. He stared at the ceiling, still laying down. "No. I go to the cafeteria with you at lunch." He said. 

____

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, do you ever go to class?" 

____

"Why does it matter to you?" He asked, curious about my sudden interest in his school attendance.

____

"Because your my friend!" Seriously, he couldn't figure that out? "I care about you." 

____

Levi turned so that his back was facing me. "You shouldn't worry about me." He chided me in a small voice. 

____

I let out a small chuckle. Why was he so shaken up about me caring for him? Levi faced me again and scrutinized my face. 

____

"What?" I laugh, confused at what he was trying to decipher. 

____

"Did something happen between you and Jean?" He asked.

____

I instantly became on edge. How did he even figure that out? 

____

"No." I said- a little bit too quickly. "Why?" 

____

Levi rolled his eyes with a half-suppressed laugh. "Eren, the minute I met you, you were so easy to read. Now that we're friends you're as transparent as water. I can tell something went wrong with you and Jean." 

____

I sighed. I can't lie to Levi and say everything's fine. He's too good for that. 

____

"Well," I began, not knowing where to start. "Basically, I caught Jean with someone else. He's currently seeing someone, but it's a secret, so you can't tell anyone." There. I didn't _technically_ let out Jean's secret. 

____

Levi scoffed. "I have better things to do than spread rumors around about pony boy." 

____

"Levi! You have to keep it a secret." I urged him. 

____

"Okay!" He cried out. "Christ, next thing I know you're going to tell me to-" 

____

"Pinky promise!" 

____

"-pinky promise." 

____

We both said at the same time. He rolled his head back, annoyed that I actually wanted to go through with this childish ritual. 

____

"Tch, if it makes you feel better." Levi put his pinky out for me. I link mine around his and we shook on it. The secret is officially safe. Except, I was currently distracted by something else. 

____

"Wow." I said in awe, still keeping my finger locked in with Levi's. 

____

"Is this your first time doing a pinky promise?" He teased. 

____

"No! I just.." I wandered off, starting at his hand. "Your hands are SO soft." I brought my other hand up to rub at his smooth skin. 

____

Levi didn't say anything. He just eyed me weirdly as I excitedly felt his hands up. 

____

"How are they this soft?" I asked. I felt as though I discovered a new world wonder. 

____

"I like using hand lotion.." He said quietly, still slightly freaked out by my intense fascination. 

____

"I love it." I whispered under my breath. I continued to play around with his hand. Clasping and unclasping it with my hand. I looked over to Levi and he looked..uncomfortable? It was hard to tell, since he was trying to hide his face from me. I was about to question why he was acting so shy, then it dawned on me.

____

"I'm sorry!" My eyes went wide as I quickly retracted my hand from Levi, acting as if I just touched something that burned me. "I forgot about your whole 'no touching' thing!" I felt guilty. I was putting my hands all over Levi's and he was probably dying inside the entire time. 

____

"What? No, I wasn't grossed out I was just-" he paused for a moment. "-confused." 

____

I guess anyone would be slightly taken aback if their friend randomly praised their soft hands. 

____

I don't know if it was my lack of sleep or just the strange tranquility from being in a quiet shed with Levi, but soon my weariness crept back in and several large yawns escaped past my mouth. Shutting my eyes for a minute won't be too bad, right? 

__***_ _

I woke up to the pleasant feeling of hands gently tussling my hair. A smile entered my face and I nuzzled myself closer to the source of this unknown comfort. My head laid on something soft and I couldn't get enough of those mysterious fingers digging into my scalp. I didn't want to open my eyes or remember where I was. I basked in this purgatory between reality and dreamland. 

____

My eyes slowly blink open and I start to remember that I'm currently in a dusty old shed with 

____

"Levi?" I called out, still waking up from my little nap. 

____

"Oh." I hear him. He took his hand away and I almost whine upon its removal. "You're awake." 

____

"I'm awake." I say. 

____

"You really dozed off there. Don't worry, me and my-what did you call them?- ridiculously smooth hands were here to soothe you. I may have soft hands but your hair is on that L'Oréal level. Soft and silky."

____

I remove my head from his lap, once his words sunk into my head. "I- I fell asleep on your lap?!" I can already feel the redness seeping into my skin.

____

"Yeah, well. At first you didn't. You were just leaning on my shoulder but eventually your big head fell onto my lap and I wasn't about to move it." He said like that was his main excuse for letting me rest on him.

____

"Oh.." I said while attempting to fix my disheveled hair. "I'm sor-"

____

"Don't say you're sorry. I didn't say I mind, did I?" He asked.

____

"No.." I say quietly. Sorry was never a part of my vocabulary but I always felt the need to say it around Levi. I always act like an idiot in front of him. Why do I always act so foolish in front of those I want to impress? 

____

"Tch. Here, let me do it." Levi said, noticing my poor attempts at fixing my own hair. He ran his fingers through my hair, trying to frame my bangs to the side and out of my face. He stared at me for a second before deciding that he didn't like that hair style and tried styling me a new one. This went on for a few more minutes until Levi finally gave up with making my hair look presentable. He was just lazily petting my head now. 

____

I giggled. "You sure this isn't just some lame excuse for you to touch my hair again?"

____

"So what if it is? I like your hair, you like my hands. It's a win-win." He stated matter-of-factly.

____

I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. Not caring anymore about my hair or how crazy it'll look after. "Mm, yeah. You're right." 

__***_ _

Lunch time rolled around and I tried not to think about the empty spot next to me. It wasn't like Levi to arrive late to lunch and it's not like he had other plans. Like he said before, he's always been with me during lunch. I begin to worry. Armin and Mikasa share a glance with each other. 

____

"Don't worry Eren, Levi probably just got stopped by a teacher." Armin suggested, trying to reassure me.

____

I didn't say anything, upset that Armin immediately knew that Levi was the cause of my low mood.

____

"Or maybe he's hanging out with some other friends." Mikasa said apathetically. I got offended at her for bringing something like that up. 

____

"Oh please." Mikasa scoffed, noticing my face. "You were the one who wanted him to socialize in the first place." She put the bendy straw in her mouth and sipped from her tiny juice box. It looked comical seeing someone as intimidating and dark as Mikasa to have such a cute drink.

____

"Yeah, but I still want him to hang out with me.." I mumble under my breath like a child.

____

A loud, obnoxious cackle caught my attention. I found the source of the noise at a table across the room. It looked like a table of seniors, judging from their lettermans and large group of friends. I recognized one of them, Erwin Smith, the school president. Next to him was a girl with a messy, auburn, high ponytail and black glasses. She laughed again and banged her fists on the table like she couldn't take it anymore. Then I saw her slap her arm against Levi's back. 

____

I audibly gasped upon seeing Levi at the table. I know that I don't own him. He has the right to hang out with whoever he wants. And, it would make sense that he'd hang out with seniors, considering he is one himself. So then why do I feel so betrayed? Levi was _my_ friend first. I was the one who talked to him when no one else would. Who do these guys think they are to just take Levi away from me like that? 

____

"Calm down, Eren." Armin noticed my glare aimed towards the noisy table. "He's allowed to have other friends. Besides, it looks like Levi's having fun." He pointed out. 

____

I looked over and sure enough, Armin was right. The crazy girl who was laughing maniacally before was now pestering Erwin. Levi was watching the two of them with an annoyed smile. A drink fell onto the girl's lap and now it was the others turn to laugh. Levi let out a small giggle and shared a moment with a small red-headed girl next to him. She looked cute, I noted in a self conscious manner.

____

I turned around and decided not to watch anymore. Maybe the only reason Levi stuck around with me was because it was better than being alone. Now that he has some real friends, he doesn't need me anymore. I tried to suppress the feeling of disappointment down but couldn't quite shake the feeling away. 

__***_ _

I slammed my locker shut and grab my backpack. School was finally over and I just wanted to go home and nap. Armin had some sort of after school activity going on today so it was just Mikasa and I walking home. 

____

"I did horrible on that test we got back." Mikasa said, sparking up a conversation.

____

"Yeah, me too." I say dismissively. 

____

"I got a B. What did you get?" She asked. 

____

I shot a look towards her. Last time I checked, "horrible" did not equate to a B. 

____

"Worse than that." Was all I said. I didn't really care about test scores at the moment. Well, actually, test scores are never on my mind usually. 

____

"What's wrong?" Mikasa asked, instantaneously noticing my dull mood. 

____

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong." I tell her- and that's the truth. There wasn't anything wrong. "I guess it's just an off day for me."

____

She decides to drop it and I'm grateful for her not prodding further into my business. I suddenly hear some heavy panting from behind me, each breath sounding louder and closer-

____

A hand crashed onto my shoulder, hastily turning me around. I was met with a slightly sweaty Jean- something that I used to fantasize a lot about. I've been trying my best to avoid him since seeing his face reminded me of my stupid mistakes. Even seeing him now, I get filled up with embarrassment, knowing that he knows all too well about my very real and unrequited feelings towards him. 

____

"Eren, you got a sec?" He asked. I wanted to say no because, if I'm being honest, being around Jean right now isn't best for me. I'm still trying to get over him and it's hard not to get nervous when he's this close to me. No, stop that. He's not even into you. Get over it. I looked at Jean and his facial expression looked like he desperately needed help. 

____

"Sure." I hesitantly agree. 

____

Jeans face gleams with gratitude and he perks up. "Okay! So..um.." he stops in his tracks when he notices Mikasa standing next to me like a guard dog. She crossed her arms and kept a firm gaze fixed on Jean. 

____

"Actually Mikasa, do you mind? I kind of need to talk to Eren alone about this.." he asked sheepishly. I blinked several times just to make sure I wasn't imagining things. I'd never thought the day would come when _Jean_ of all people would tell Mikasa to leave. That boy is like her leech. Always trying to get even a fraction of a second with her. And now he's telling her to leave.

____

Mikasa didn't seem to care either way. She gave me a glance and I already knew what she was trying to convey through that. Asking me with her eyes if I'm going to be okay. I give her a slight reassuring nod and she parts ways with us, reminding me once again to not get into any fights with Jean. Right. That's what Mikasa was worried about. It's not like she even knows that he broke my heart.

____

"Right." Jean quickly looks around to make sure there were no prying ears. He continued when the coast was clear. "I normally wouldn't come to someone like you for this but, you're the only one who knows about my...relationship." He said, tip toeing around his interest in males. 

____

"Yeah." I say, not wanting to relive the memory of discovering his relationship with Marco.

____

"Yeah well, Marcos mad at me! He hasn't been texting me and whenever I try to talk to him at school, he ignores me!" He threw his arms up in frustration. 

____

"Well, what did you do wrong?" I asked casually.

____

"Nothing except- hey! Why do you automatically assume that I'm the one at fault here?" He whipped his head at me with an offended face.

____

"You really think Marco is the type to do any wrong?" I asked him. "Besides, of course it would be you! You have that kind of face that only criminals have." I remember Armin saying that was one thing Jean and I had in common. 

____

"That's unexpectedly harsh.." Jean says, a bit caught off guard.

____

"Yeah well, that's Armin for ya." I mumble under my breath with a gloomy smile.

____

"Huh?" 

____

"Nothing. Anyways, how'd you fuck up?" I asked, getting back on track to our original conversation. 

____

"Well obviously, no one knows that I'm-" Jean lowered his voice, "-dating a dude. I have a reputation to keep up! Jean Kirstein, the ultimate ladies man! Women love him, men want to be him!" He boasted with passion. 

____

I let out a chuckle. Jean has a lot of confidence, that's for sure. "Yeah, Jean Kirstein: men want to be him and he wants men to be _in_ him." 

____

He gasped and quickly turned around to make sure no one had heard that. "Keep it down, idiot!" He chastised me. It was hard to take him seriously with that blush on his face though. 

____

He calmed down and continued. "Marco is upset with me because I'm constantly flirting around with other girls at school. I keep telling him that none of it's real- I don't even know their names! I just have to make it believable that I'm straight!" He said with utter desperation in his tone.

____

I give him a concerned look. "Why are you so adamant about keeping this part of your life a secret? You do know that your friends would all support you, right? Look at me! They don't give a shit about my sexuality! Half of your freaking friend group is gay! They definitely won't view you differently because of this." 

____

"No, it's not that." He says, still feeling uneasy. 

____

"Then what is it? Is it your parents?" I remember having to come out to them. My mom took it better than I expected. It took my dad a bit of adjusting but soon enough he learned to accept me as well. 

____

"No, I just- I don't even know if I'm gay, you know? I mean, I like Marco. I really do. But-" he sighed. "I still find girls attractive! Beautiful, special girls. Like Mikasa. I still get boners when thinking about her too!" He tussled his hair in frustration. 

____

I did a fake gag upon hearing that unnecessary information. "Have you ever considered the possibility that you might be bi?" It could very well be the case, I thought.

____

He looked ahead at nothing while musing over what I said. "Maybe. But I've never felt this way towards any other boys. Only Marco. Is it possible to be gay for only one boy? Does that even count?" He let out a humorless laugh. "Pathetic. I can't even figure out what my sexuality is." 

____

I stare at him with compassion. I knew what it was like to start questioning yourself. Wondering what all of these feelings mean and what it made you. It's not something that can be figured out in a day. "Hey." I said, putting my arm on his shoulder. Normally I'd be nervous and have an extreme case of butterflies in my stomach but right now, all I was focused on was the fact that Jean needed help. I was the only guy he could talk to. I make sure my voice is soft and sincere. "It's okay. You don't need a label. It doesn't have to have a name. If the feelings you have are real, then it's valid. You'll learn more about yourself along the way."

____

I waited for his response. I was never good at cheering people up. That was Armin's forte. I tend to express myself through actions rather than words.

____

Jean shot me a smile- a real, genuine smile. Not one of those pompous smirks that he flashes at school. It was one of those smiles that were so rare for him. It was moments like these that reminded me why I had such a massive crush on Jean. He was a diamond in the rough. 

____

Jean suddenly pulled me in for a quick but grateful hug. He looked at me with sincere eyes. "Thanks Eren. You know, you're not half as bad as I thought you were." He mentioned playfully. 

____

Seeing Jean's soft side made me feel bad for him. He's going through a tough time and it's not like he has the whole world to confide to. The weird thing though is that when Jean hugged me, my brain thought of Levi. Just for a brief second. 

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like high school!Levi would totally laugh at stupid immature things like snorting. I mean the man makes goddamn poop jokes in his 30s!! Imagine what he's like in his teens! :o 
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated! Helps me get motivated as well! Thank you for reading :)


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